Deconstructing the Music Industry by Joseph Korba

The RIAA is suing poor college students for hundreds of thousands of dollars. When a group that represents what were once some of the richest entertainment corporations in the world begins to act out like some loser small-town cop, trying to make examples out of people to save a lost cause, something is awry. The big record companies are losing, and losing fast to music piracy and even legit downloads. Musicians, namely the drummer from Metallica, initially, and understandably began to stand behind their record label's attempts to crush this new scourge to their livelihoods. After all, even heavy metal drummers need to pay their therapists.
But, the smart artists, and the ones not so tainted by their management to see true artistic opportunity, began to revolt. Against all conventional wisdom, some of the biggest and most critically respected bands bit the hand that fed them for so many years. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails (really just Trent Reznor) jumped ship, leaving the labels that released landmark albums like OK Computer and The Downward Spiral.

Even to a layperson, you can see that this is serious business, probably the most radical artistic upheaval our generation will experience. We aren't going to get to watch the rise of rock and roll, or hip hop coming out of the inner cities, but we are going to be able to witness first hand what happens when artists have the chance to be autonomous. The lunatics are taking over the asylum. Thom Yorke (of Radiohead) will have a more interesting business strategy then some uptight guy with an MBA that these artists used to have to pitch to just so they could get payola money for radio play.

Radiohead was the first band to really test the waters of what could be done free from the shackles of a major label. They released their latest album "In Rainbows" online and allowed fans to choose how much they think the music is worth. Think about that for a minute...it doesn't take long for a practical mind to come up with the million problems that this can cause for the business. What is profound about this is that Radiohead had enough faith in humanity to believe that people would actually choose to pay for something they could easily download for free; and everyone always takes Thom Yorke for a cynic. It's safe to assume that the labels didn't see this coming; they figured the bottom line to be cash.

The Radiohead experiment seems to have worked. Although they didn't make as much money as they probably would have releasing In Rainbows traditionally, they still made much more then most music journalists and industry people anticipated. People actually paid money, some paying more than the CD would have cost at a record store, to receive a product that was essentially free. People willingly made a donation to artists simply because they enjoyed their art.

The idea of people paying for music when they don't have to isn't revolutionary by itself, but removing the middle man is. The traditional wisdom is that a band needs a label to book tours and most importantly to market albums and shows through radio station payola and other media like magazine ads. The internet has not only allowed bands to release their music directly to their fans, but also to be directly involved with the marketing process. With the popularity of social networking sites like MySpace, bands are going straight to the fans, posting tours dates and even releasing exclusive songs. Tim Armstrong of the mid-90s punk band "Rancid" released an entire album for free on his website in 2006. After the initial popularity of his solo album, judged by the amount of downloads, he released it independently on his record label. "A Poet's Life" went on to be a moderate success in Armstrong's genre. People bought a CD full of music that they probably already had for free on their computer hard drives. This marketing strategy shows that fans are willing to support their favorite artists if the artists release quality music, and not just contract-quota filling albums for their labels.

Advancements in technology and the realization of the opportunities that the internet offers to musicians is a major threat to the labels that isn't going away. As more and more artists see the potential of being completely free of money-hungry management, it is a safe assumption that the quality of music being produced will rise. Bands will be judged solely on the quality of their music and tours instead of Billboard sales numbers. The fans will have the final say in the fate of bands, and many established acts are buying into this. "Queens of the Stone Age" will be the next band to leave their label, Interscope, according to front man and founder Josh Homme. They aren't the first to do it, but here's to hoping they aren't the last.